


White Foams and Grey Skies

by kazumi123



Category: Naruto, 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, But sprinkled with plot, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't Take This Too Seriously, Gen, Hatake Kakashi is Not Okay, Hatake Kakashi is a Great Cook, In which Kakashi is reborn as Satoru's Older Brother, Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Spoilers, Just Ask Satoru, Kakashi is a domestic God, Non-Jujutsu User Kakashi, Other, Protective Gojo Satoru, Protective Siblings, References to Illness, Reincarnated Hatake Kakashi, Satoru called Kakashi his Nii-Nii because he thinks it's adorable, Satoru just really likes his Nii-Nii, Sibling Bonding, This fic is just for pure indulgence, Though he may be biased, but nothing too detailed, not yet at least
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29946024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazumi123/pseuds/kazumi123
Summary: In which Gojo Satoru has an older brother,orA pure indulgence fic that stemmed from the desire to see Kakashi and Satoru on the same screen. Contains some fluffy and angsty parts, and slight spoilers to the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, but nothing too prominent. Also plot, yes, it somewhat exists.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Gojo Satoru
Comments: 13
Kudos: 165





	White Foams and Grey Skies

**Author's Note:**

> Please Read Notes before Going On:
> 
> 1\. This is Just Pure Indulgence, so again, don't take it too seriously. Some bullshitting is also involved, but the author just like theories and having fun, mkay?
> 
> 2\. There are no other Naruto characters involved in this setting (Except one, though spoilers)
> 
> 3\. Due to the author's writing habits and unprofessional fangirlism, there may be slight elements of BL, but this is pure sibling relationship between Kakashi and Satoru. There may exist other BL relationships in future chapters, so if you don't like that prospect, please leave. 
> 
> 4\. This is heavily inspired by 燐兎綺(綺燐)@コメント募集中's works on Pixiv, who has depicted the two as siblings and thus has inspired me to write this.
> 
> 5\. For the sake of simplicity, Kakashi is also named Kakashi in his new life.
> 
> 6\. The author has a lot of regret in life but this is not one of them.

Gojo Satoru has an older brother.

Now, he never did tell anyone else, not even to his close classmates Geto Suguru and Ieiri Shoko, in passing nor in hints. Now that he thought about it, he supposed that the only individual at Jujutsu Tech who was aware that he was not an only child was Yaga-sensei, who of course, deemed it not important to spread such private information to the other students.

Such confidentiality was not because he hated the existence of his brother, in fact, it was the total opposite. Satoru loved his older sibling to death but hated the circumstances that his beloved nii-san was born into.

Satoru absolutely _loathed_ clan politics.

It was no surprise to anyone in the Jujutsu world, of the power and infamy of his Six Eyes, a pair that currently only he possessed, unseen in any other sorcerers over a period of a hundred years. A long and hard journey undergone by his clan, covered callously with the hideous patchwork of politics, bloodlines and arranged marriages. A power that let Satoru be able to call himself the strongest, to mould space to his whims and to see what that is there cannot be seen by even the most hardened and experienced of Jujutsu Users, and even further beyond.

Between the two of them, he was the lucky one.

“Satoru?”

“Nii-nii?” His mouth automatically answered, and Satoru blinked, his mind coming back to the present. He turned his gaze from the dripping frosting of his shortbread, covered liberally with chocolate toppings and icing sugar in enough amount to give anyone severe cavity, to look up into a grey orb laced with concern.

“Is there something wrong?” His brother peered at his mostly untouched dessert, a clear frown on his face. It was one of the few times Satoru was able to see his face, for he usually wears a medical mask due to his condition. His skin was even paler than Satoru’s was, lacking pigmentation due to being confined indoors for too long. Beneath the fluorescent lights, he shone like moonlight, and combined with his naturally silvery-white hair, slightly darker than Satoru’s, he seemed almost otherworldly. 

His brother’s deep baritone voice continued soothingly. “I thought for sure that this was one of the recipes that you love to eat so much. Did I mess up today?” He sounded almost upset, even though earlier he was giving a lecture to Satoru about his bad eating habits, saying that he should cut back on his sugar intake. His brother really does spoil him.

Pushing back his thoughts for now, Satoru grinned widely, almost maniacally at his sibling, poking a fork vigorously into the dessert with such exuberance that a dollop of cream hit his cheek. “No, no, nothing’s wrong! I just got mesmerised by this beauty here!” He acclaimed, immediately shoving a mouthful into his mouth. His brother gave a pointed look at his horrid table manners and swatted his head with some degree of force to count as being playful. Satoru whined mischievously, grabbing the other’s hand, and placing it on top of his head, silently demanding a head pat.

His brother sighed, but obliged. “I really do spoil you, huh?” He said with exasperation, yet fond. Satoru hummed, enjoying both the delicious taste of the dessert and the comforting motion of his brother patting his head. Minutes passed silently as Satoru devoured his plate like a starving man, while his brother went back to his seat, sipping calmly at his black tea. The silence should be overbearing, but between the two of them, it was a calming ritual.

His brother should hate him.

But he does not.

“Nii-san should hate me!” His younger self had wailed to his older brother some years ago, clinging to the sleeve of his brother’s sweat-dampened yukata after a particularly bad coughing fit.

“But why should I?” His brother has sounded so confused, even as he kneeled before Satoru to wipe away the dripping tears that the younger would later vehemently deny. His brother was very thin even back then, hair unkempt like a wild forest bush, but he tried so hard to be gentle with whatsoever tantrum Satoru had thrown at him, bony fingers running through Satoru’s cloudy strands in familiar soothing motions.

“B-because of me, t-they, nii-san--!” Rejected you. Denied you. All because I have something that you do not have.

“Hush now.” His brother scolded him sternly, in the very few times his voice has steeled when talking to Satoru. He pulled Satoru into a hug, with the other sniffling into the collar of his yukata. He smelled like the leaves in the garden and soil, with a metallic hint of dried blood. There was also the lingering sense of the ozone, the smell of the incoming rain and the approaching thunderstorm. “None of this is your fault, remember Satoru. No matter what happens, I will never blame you for anything. Do not forget this.”

His brother was so _so_ kind, and so _so_ soft-hearted.

He really does not deserve this fate. Satoru thought glumly, as he finished the last of the chocolate string beneath the watchful eye of his brother. It was as delicious as ever, but even the most sugary of treats could not take his mind off from contemplating his brother’s hunched shoulders, and the dark bags under his only visible eye. He looked quite terrible, worse than the last time Satoru had seen him, which was two months ago. Studying at Jujutsu Tech has given Satoru the freedom that he has craved for so long, at the expense of his time with his brother.

“Are you keeping up with your medicine, nii-nii?” The words streamed out of his mouth before Satoru could fully think it over, though they were steady and full of conviction, with no regrets.

His brother blinked at the sudden question, and met with Satoru’s blue-eyed stare, darkened with ideas. To his credit, his brother did not seem startled, nor pulled away from his sibling’s questioning stare. Instead, he calmly placed his almost empty porcelain cup back onto the coaster, and gave Satoru a small, neutral smile.

The older sibling replied, “Not recently, no.”

Satoru gripped the linen of the tablecloth a little too tightly then. “How much recently?”

Only so did he hear his brother taking a small, almost inaudible intake of breath, a sign of his discomfort at being called out by the younger Gojo. “…Maybe a week or two.” A pause when the older attempted to finish off the remaining tea in his cup as a way to misdirect the conversation. At Satoru’s insisting glare, he sighed and relented. “Could be more. I can’t remember.”

Satoru snorted, teeth-gritting. Anger began to seep into his being. Some at his brother for his lack of concern over his well-being, but most of them were directed at his clansmen. “Why are they not replenishing it then? I told them last time-”

“Satoru—“

“Kakashi-nii.” At the sudden mention of the other’s name, the older sibling clamped shut, knowing that with Satoru saying his name instead of his nickname, that the other was serious. They stared down at each other, the atmosphere stifling. This was not the first nor the last time they had this particular argument.

It was a miracle that Kakashi has lasted this long. With his body constantly at war with itself, Gojo Kakashi, born into one of the three major Jujutsu clans, was not a sorcerer.

His older brother was not born with the Six Eyes, and the inbreeding with the clan was met with some undesirable results with his physiology, and some days, Kakashi cannot even move from his bed without wincing in pain and becomes easily tired if he uses some of his cursed energy during training sessions. His cursed energy itself is easily agitated, anxious and flowing unpredictably through his system, and from his Six Eyes, Satoru could see that the energy seemed to be fighting with itself, the flows twisting and diverging as if from two separate systems. He has a lot of cursed energy, but it was volatile and stressful to his brother’s already fragile body. It was not something that he could fix though, and Kakashi’s condition was met with puzzled curiosity within the Jujutsu community (those who are aware of his existence anyway), but none deemed it important enough to actually do anything about it since his brother, though of the Gojo clan, was of no one important.

His brother was living on counted days, and Satoru hated it. He hated this fact, and the fact that he could not do anything to change fate even with all the natural abilities that he was born with. He hated that even with how gifted Kakashi actually is, despite his disabilities, how extremely bright and cunning his mind was, that the clan members would never think of the older as anything more than the shadow of Gojo Satoru.

“I deserve this, Satoru.” His brother said, face grim, eyes dimmed as he seemed to remember something a lifetime ago. Far away from the reaches of his Six Eyes. His brother looked so old, so tired, as if he were living beyond a time that he should. Even though he was merely two years older than Satoru.

Satoru does not understand.

What he does understand, however, is that he truly loves his brother, and wishes things were different. He wants to take Kakashi sight-seeing around the country, see the wonders that Satoru could see due to his missions because even though he was the oldest, his brother seemed to have a childlike curiosity to the things around him, as though he has never seen them before. His brother seemed to be at his happiest when he was outdoors, amongst the foliage and the shade offered by the trees. Satoru wants to introduce him to his schoolmates, how he fooled around with Suguru and stole confectionaries from the pantry with Shoko on some nights. He knows that the stuck-up Nanami would have loved to talk about some boring topics with his brother, who has read a lot of books on a lot of things and can retain information like a sponge. Kakashi has never known life beyond that in the clan compound. The clan has kept them separated during their childhood for almost eight years, and it was only because of Satoru’s curiosity at the existence of the restricted wing located on the other side of the compound did he then find out that he has an older brother. By then, the only reason the clan has not thrown Kakashi out was because of his massive amount of cursed energy. With all the energy he has inside of him, Kakashi was a beacon for curses, which deemed him to be quite the delectable snack. Perhaps the clan thought (and is still thinking so) that they could somehow make use of such volatile potential.

“Nii-nii…” Satoru started.

“But I am here. And I have you, Satoru. My adorable little brother.” Kakashi smiled, and Satoru, usually jovial and uncaring, choked on his emotions, long eyelashes trembling. The clock on the wall continued its ticking, endlessly reminding them.

-x-

“The fate of being the strongest is a heavy burden indeed, Satoru.” His brother has said one evening with a hand holding a tattered book about the history of curses, while the younger was enjoying resting his head on his brother’s lap. His brother was always so indulgent, and Satoru wants to take advantage of his attention for as long as he can. Kakashi often pointed out that he was like a cat, lazy and attention-seeking, and Satoru never denied it. It was one of the few days when the school has allowed him to go back to visit his clan compound, due to the lack of missions, and Satoru hated leaving his brother alone amongst his prissy clan members for too long. He would no doubt have to deal with Suguru’s and Shoko’s nosy questions later, knowing how much he usually loathes returning to his clan.

“I can handle it, nii-nii! I am not a kid anymore.” Misunderstanding that the other was pointing out his lack of experience, Satoru pouted into a crease of the cloth. He could sense the kind smile on the other’s face bearing down at the back of his skull, and he harrumphed in embarrassment.

“I know you can,” Kakashi said, ruffling his hair, and Satoru preened under the praise. “It is just that being counted as amongst the strong, not even as the strongest, is often a lonely and perilous road. It can ruin people, and had, being often relied upon leaves you with no wriggle room for any mistakes lest the pedestal you were placed upon collapsed beneath you. People either start respecting or fearing you. Most of the times, you even started doubting yourself, and whether the convictions that you believe to be true were truly so or simply just inhuman human ideals.”

His brother sounded so wistful and sorrowful, so Satoru glanced up at Kakashi’s distracted countenance, who was contemplating absently at an illustration of one of the famous curses, Kyuubi no Kyoko, eye unfocused.

“What makes you say all of that, nii-nii?”

“Ah.” His brother tilted his head in ponder, bringing a palm to rest his cheek onto.

“Humans are wonderful creatures.” Kakashi-nii ultimately continued. “But horrible too. They can change, to good or from good.”

Satoru listened to the tinkers of the windchime in the summer wind as Kakashi patted his head. “No matter what the future holds you, Satoru, I pray that you hold on to yourself and what you believe in.”

( _“Did you know it would come to this….? Nii-san?”_ Satoru numbly thought, unclenching his hand as he stared at Suguru’s retreating back, the distance between them ever-growing wider. The strong who protect the weak and the strong who eradicate the weak.)

-x-

His brother has a talent for cooking, and Satoru could not adore his brother more.

It started with simple recipes, like rice balls, simple yet tasty, much more delicious than the ones he got from the main kitchen. Then it included more complex dishes, complete homey meals that leave your stomach content and full. Later, Kakashi started delving into desserts, after Satoru admitted his fondness of sweets to his brother, albeit reluctantly, because his brother himself does not like sweets. His brother, without even pointing out their differences, proceeded to browse through the cooking books for more recipes that he could further use Satoru as a guinea pig (not that the latter was complaining or anything, no, absolutely not).

Kakashi-nii was a one-man army (of cooking).

Satoru loves it.

“Chew properly, Satoru. Or you’re going to choke.” Kakashi sounded quite amused as he looked at his younger sibling wolfing down his homemade meal of Katsudon like there’s no tomorrow.

“But nii-nii, I haven’t had your cooking for so long!” Satoru whined, picking up a piece of pork cutlet. “After eating your dishes, all the other food tastes like crap. You have ruined me!” He then stuffed a shred of omelette into his mouth, pouting with mock indignation. Kakashi gave his usual gentle eye-smile at the off-hand compliment and treated his younger brother to some strawberry pudding when his plate was cleaned empty.

“Nii-nii is making me fat!” Satoru wailed, while also simultaneously demanding his second serving. It was just so _good_.

With a full and happy belly, he then spent the next few hours helping Kakashi around his make-shift garden (which harboured quite the assortment of vegetables, all healthy and ripe for harvesting), showing off some of his new techniques that blasted off quite a few trees (Kakashi was impressed, but also disappointed at the collateral damage, for he loves trees) and just spending the evening basking in his brother’s company. Time flew just a little too fast and when he realised it, while enjoying telling a recounting tale of one of his mission to his brother (A 1st Grade with an astounding shapeshifting ability that took on the form of a promiscuous woman, which was surprising itself, but has also taken a liking to Suguru, who was quite pissed at both of his classmates hollering in the background while he tried to fend off the curse’s wandering hands) that he noticed it was already quite late, the evening sky a mingle of dusky vermillion and orange. He has to go back to the school soon, before he gets ripped a new one by Yaga-sensei.

“Here, Satoru. A reward because you’ve been working so hard lately.” While he was fastening his shoes, Kakashi nudged him with a good-looking bento box, and Satoru’s sweets radar went haywire as he could make out the delectable smell of freshly baked sugary confections. All too happy at the prospect of getting to enjoy more of his truly amazing brother’s delicacies, Satoru glomped his brother in his delight, who gave a meek protest at the contact, but nonetheless, let the younger hugged him for as long as he wanted to.

 _‘Nii-nii~’,_ Satoru sang praises in his mind, wondering what he had done in his past life to deserve being blessed with a brother like Kakashi.

He said his goodbye and promptly hurried back, both in excitement to see what Kakashi has managed to conjure up this time and for his self-preservation (Yaga-sensei had a mean punch, and while Satoru could protect himself against anything, he knows how to read the room, dammit).

The moment he reached the stone stairways and the lone Torii gate that guarded the entrance of the school, Satoru let out a loud sigh, for he was relieved. He had managed to refrain himself from sneaking a glance into his precious cargo, for during the duration he was hurrying back, it was greatly beckoning him with all of its delicious sweety might, the smell of hot cream and melting sugar wafting into his nostrils. It was so tempting that Satoru has even attempted his half-finished technique of teleportation, managing to cover a good amount of distance with each jump. Though it could use some more work, Satoru thought, as he pulled out a twig from his locks.

Now that he was finally safe from the prospect of being punched on the head as punishment, Satoru wiggled his fingers with an exuberance smile, pushing the tip of his thumb beneath the cover lid. Saliva began to pool in his mouth as he slowly and deliberately began to push the lid over, and he could swear heavenly light was permeating from its content when Satoru finally uncovered his given bento box.

Cream puffs. About a dozen of them; thin, airy choux pastries filled with a lot of vanilla cream. Each was about the size of his fists, their crispy, cracky crust dusted magnificently with a thin coating of icing sugar.

Satoru squealed as silently as he could.

“Are those cream puffs?” Suguru glanced over his shoulder, with Shoko peering from the other side. Satoru was so enamoured by the beauty of the dessert that he did not even notice the two sneaking upon him. Were they waiting for him?

“Fuck off, you two,” Satoru growled possessively, promptly slamming the cover shut and hiding the box full of delicious treats from view. To no avail, the two vultures crept closer to him and his prized possession.

“You were away on one of our days off and you didn’t even bring us back a souvenir? That’s harsh.” Shoko pointed out, and Suguru, ever the traitor, nodded in agreement at her words. Satoru sweat-dropped as his classmates cornered him from both sides, eyes fixated on the box that he so desperately tried to hide behind him.

What then ensued was a good 20 minutes of wrestling between the three, two-against-one, until Satoru decided to give up, because it would be no good to waste the freshness of his hardworking, lovable brother’s homemade treats, and he really did not want the cream puffs to get squish amidst the scuffle. He pulled at Suguru’s hair and tried to tug Shoko off his arm, who was grossly trying to bite his elbow.

“These are really good. Where did you get your hands on these?” The long-haired vermin that was Suguru asked as he mooched on a stolen pastry, distinctly impressed. Satoru scowled as even though he had slapped Shoko’s hand twice already, his female schoolmate just ignored the warning and grabbed another helping, her usual dead eyes twinkling at her victory. They had relocated to the nearby building, which conveniently had a bench near the vending machines.

‘’My brother’s cream puffs…” Satoru bemoaned in lamentation after he took a quick glance inside the box and realised that there were only five pieces of those wonderful creampuffs left. He took a hasty bite in case the vultures wanted more (and they most certainly did, as if both of their hands shackling themselves to the sleeves of his uniform to prevent him from running away was of any indication), too busy marvelling at the exquisite taste of the crispy crusts accompanying the fresh taste of heavy vanilla cream to properly realise the bombshell that he has unwittingly dropped upon his classmates and best friends.

With the taste of heaven on his tongue, Satoru looked up to see that he was getting blank looks from both Suguru and Shoko.

“Your _what_?” They said simultaneously.

  
-x-

Kakashi-nii’s room is really bare.

There was really nothing of note or eye-catching in his living quarters, aside from his interest for reading, of which he had several small bookshelves located in his small living area, but asides from that, nothing.

The point that Satoru was trying to say is: It’s dull.

When he pointed this out to Kakashi, the latter simply shrugged and responded with, “What can I say?” He said in his usual drawl. “I guess I’m just a dull person.”

Satoru has squawked in indignation, almost automatically opening his mouth to defend his brother’s honour, but realised that he was going to argue for Kakashi against Kakashi himself. The older sibling then basically enjoyed several minutes of Satoru squirming with a raised eyebrow, amused.

This won’t do, Satoru grumbled to himself. He munched on a Dango, trying to think.

“Ah, here, senpai!”

Satoru blinked behind his usual dark shades when a nicely-wrapped box of confectionaries was placed in front of him unceremoniously. Upon closer inspection, it was full of a handcrafted assortment of mochis, premium quality nonetheless. He looked up to see Haibara beaming down, Nanami behind him with his usual solemn expression.

“I got you and Suguru-senpai this during our mission in Osaka!” The junior said jovially. Nanami grumbled something about wasting resources on someone like Satoru, but Satoru paid it no mind. He had a feeling Nanami was just being Nanami again (He would be the one volunteering to pay for Haibara’s generosity of souvenirs usually).

“Ah, thanks~” The pale-haired sorcerer swallowed the last bit of his dango before he delivered his usual charming smile, reaching out to mess with the dark-haired junior’s hair. The other laughed while trying to half-heartedly push Satoru’s hands away. All the while, his other junior gave the Gojo quite the glower before dragging Haibara somewhere, saying something about needing to give the other souvenirs for the rest as well. Satoru blew a raspberry at the retreating duo, falling back onto his seat.

Now, where was he?

Ah yes, he was moping about Kakashi-nii’s lack of decorum.

Muttering under his breath, Satoru leaned back, tilting his head at the elegant bright characters donning the cover of the paperboard box, which further showed elaborate illustrations of the treats within. He traced a finger along the edge, feeling the smooth plastic.

Souvenirs.

That’s it.

What’s better ways than trinkets from various places to brighten up your living space?

The sorcerer grinned, pleased with himself.

Kakashi-nii, for as long as Satoru has known him, very rarely stepped foot beyond the clan gates. He mentioned before that he could technically leave the clan for they would really not care, but he stayed mostly for the benefit of the non-soccerers. When Satoru asked him to elaborate, Kakashi-nii looked distant, before saying that trying to live like a normal person while attracting every curse located in the near 5 kilometres radius does not really bode well for the survivability of anyone.

“I did leave once.” Kakashi-nii has said, and he glanced down at his right hand with an unreadable expression. The sunlight illuminated his dark lashes and sombre look. “I almost died. Some...were not as fortunate. Of course, the very first curse I’ve encountered in my life was a First Grade.”

At that memory, Satoru’s good mood dimmed, but he puffed himself back up again. Kakashi-nii would not be able to leave _now_ (and you can be _damn_ sure that Satoru will do something about it) _,_ but Satoru would like to get some trinkets to show Kakashi life outside the walls. Something that can make that smile bloom on his brother’s face.

One of the many perks of going to Jujutsu Tech is that going to exorcise curses meant you can basically go on roadtrips. Satoru was the strongest, Suguru was strong as well, so they were often called to go on high rankings missions, which, due to the lack of sorcerers around, meant that the two of them basically travelled a lot. Shoko sometimes goes along with them as well, but usually for rescue missions, typically ones that would not prove to be too dangerous to lose someone of her precious technique for. So when the two of them were called to exorcise a curse in Kyoto not too soon after, Satoru had to hide his glee when Yaga-sensei was droning on about the entails.

“Well, that’s done,” Suguru said nonchalantly, picking up a ball of cursed energy to swallow. It was a 1st Grade they were against, but for people like Suguru and Satoru, it was a mere walk in the park.

“Yes, yes,” Satoru said with such impatience and made a face when Suguru turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, his cheeks puffed like a chipmunk.

“What’s the hurry? Usually, you would enjoy fighting them. Gotten bored already, eh, Shoujo Eyes?” Suguru finally swallowed his disgusting meal and laced an arm around Satoru’s shoulders, a look of pure disinterest on his face. Satoru pushed at the other’s face in response, sticking out his tongue at the nickname.

“Where’s the souvenir store?” Satoru demanded, rolling his eyes as Suguru followed after him. After making sure that the curse was really dealt with and no non-sorcerer witnesses were around to see their clean-up, Satoru turned to his best friend, who was still tidying up. Good thing Satoru doesn’t have to clean up often thanks to Infinity. “I wanna buy souvenirs.”

“That’s quite unlike you.” Suguru pointed out, re-tying his hairband so that his hair would stop falling into his eyes. A speck of blood was still splotch on his forehead. Out of spike, Satoru didn’t mention it.

“Just having a shopping bug, that’s all.”

“What are you, a girl?”

Satoru pulled at Suguru’s cheeks at the comment.

“Alright, alright.” Suguru raised up his arms in surrender when the taller 2nd Year student finally relented in his fury, though his cheeks were now red from the pinching. “I do know one near enough where we are right now. Why is this important again?”

“What, I can’t pull a Haibara and be generous to everyone back home?”

Satoru raised his hands threateningly when Suguru opened his mouth to comment.

“Enough already! My poor cheeks have suffered enough today!” The dark-haired student grumbled, and the two of them set off to the roadside, where they followed until they were greeted by illuminating lights and old-fashioned buildings, with crowds of people, mostly tourists, loitering the busy streets. Suguru steered him into one of the crowded alleyways, and, with the shouts of bargaining vendors and customers, the two stood in front of a rather weary-looking traditional house, its double shoji paper doors wide open and beckoning for customers. The overhead windchime tinged softly as they went inside.

The sweet smell of hot red bean paste was what first greeted Satoru. It was a rather big store and despite its antiquity, held rather polished wooden walls and floors, with there were quite a few people milling about between the sections. One of the store attendants greeted Satoru and Suguru with a cheerful smile, to which Satoru gave back rather dashingly. He snickered silently when the poor girl blushed to the roots of her hair, before saying that he was going to take a look around first. He admired the rows of snacks and food located at the front counter, wrapped in bundles as gifts.

Suguru wandered off from Satoru, claiming that while he was here, he might as well get something for his parents. Satoru waved a hand at his retreating back dismissively, eyes glued to the abundance of choices in front of him. And the store has quite the line-up.

He knows that Kakashi was not too fond of sweets, so getting any of these famous snacks was not going to cut it. Besides, he was looking to liven up Kakashi’s room a bit, so how was food going to do that?

Satoru then moved on from the food aisle, to take a look at the shelves that harboured miscellaneous items. Most were the typical tourists trap; overpriced keychains, mugs and whatnot. There was a row of _kendama_ and _koma_ , which Satoru skipped to observe the line of ceramic cups. There were some interesting designs, but Kakashi-nii already had a set back home, and he was a rather simplistic person. Satoru waved through the _Koinobri_ streamers that got into his face as he ventured further into the premise, contemplating.

His older brother seems to really love dogs. (As if that one time where he tried to sneak several strayed puppies into the compound was of any indication, which failed hilariously as the puppies bundled inside his clothing became too excited and couldn’t stop yipping and howling). So if he could find something canine-related, maybe Kakashi would like that?

After scouring most of the shelves, the Gojo finally reached the last of the row located at the far back, which held the most interesting displays out of all he had just seen. There were one or two antique vases, but the shelf mainly displayed mini sculptures of the shrines situated throughout Kyoto. _Kokeshi Ningyo_ also littered the space in various shapes and sizes, and one looked so much like Utahime that Satoru had to pick it up to examine with a snicker, knowing how much the other disliked him. Wooden Nekomata dolls flashed him their cheeky smiles as the sorcerer continued to inspect the impressive craftsmanship.

Out of the corner of his magnificent eyes, Satoru saw it.

It’s perfect.

“Nii-nii, here~!”

“Satoru, wha-”

Kakashi blinked when, with a cheerful grin, Satoru grasped both of his hands, his skylit eyes twinkling. He then sneaked something quite rough and pointy onto Kakashi’s palm, the unknown object barely the size of his hand.

“Ta-da~~” Satoru let go, and Kakashi eyed the gift he was handed over.

It was a tiny wooden figure of a Shiba Inu. It doesn’t have the best paint job in the world, looking rather messy with splotches of yellow mixing into areas of white, and with its somewhat googly eyes, combined with its petulant expression, making it a humorous sight to behold.

“I thought your room was a little bare so I brought back something to liven it up a bit. Isn’t he cute? Now the little guy can keep Nii-nii accompanied while I’m away, and Nii-nii will always be reminded of his cute, adorable and handsome little brother every time you see him!”

“...”

“I’ll bring you back souvenirs from now on.” With an uncharacteristically serious look on his face, the younger man swore. “Though one day, you’ll be able to walk freely from these walls and see the world yourself. I’ll make sure of it.”

Kakashi stared at him with wide twilight eyes, as if in awe at his words and growth. Satoru preened under the attention.

But then-

“That’s all good and all, but,” Deadpanning, Kakashi pointed to the mountain-load of wrapped souvenir boxes that towered from behind Satoru, which was leaning rather precariously. All of them were wrapped in different colours and an assortment of wrapping papers, which made it even more of a sight to behold. “Did you buy the whole store or something?”

Kakashi tilted his head as Satoru gave a laugh, rubbing the back of his messy head.

“Hmm~? I couldn’t decide what to buy for everyone else and the snacks all looked so good. There was handmade taffy, and there’s even dried jelly, which is basically a speciality of the store. Not to mention- ” Satoru started rambling about the different flavours and sizes of the confectionaries he had seen when some of the servants started gaping at the sight, horrified at the taken space and the prospect of the mess that they have to later clean up.

“You little rascal.”

Satoru whined when Kakashi bopped him on the forehead gently, effectively shutting him up. The other turned away, but Satoru caught the small, serene smile on the other’s face as he caressed the face of the wooden figure on its snout with a careful finger, holding it up gently in a palm.

Satoru beamed brightly, in reminisce of the sun, just as Kakashi called him in for tea.

(One day, nii-nii, you’ll be able to walk freely without worry. That’s a promise.) 

-x-

After _that mission_ , Satoru went home.

He was not exactly subtle in hiding his emotions, walking through the compound, noisily opening doors and footsteps echoing upon the wooden flooring. The servants milled around his sulking form, mindful of triggering his foul mood upon them. Baleful eyes scorned at him, the glares of his clansmen pondering over his misery as they were no doubt ruminating with one another the news of his latest failure. Half of him wanted to level his clan compound to the ground, the other half just wanted to go to his brother. The latter won, and he sludged on, ignoring the whispers. Infinity hummed around him, contempt in drowning the outside world.

Nii-nii.

_Nii-nii._

His brother was leafing through a rather worn-down cooking magazine when he entered the room. The bags underneath his visible eye were more prominent than usual, and he looked visibly distraught. He looked up when he heard the door slide opened, and his bloodshot eye widened upon seeing the younger’s form.

_“Satoru.”_

Before he even realised it, he was enveloped in a warm, shaky hug, though maybe he subconsciously did, for he has already deactivated Infinity without thinking about it. The familiar scent of the forest and ozone that belonged to his brother reminded him that at least, he was _home_. ( _Kakashi_ was _home_ ).

His brother silently took in the already nearly invisible marks left behind by Fushiguro Toshi, thanks to his reversed cursed technique, thumbing along what used to be life-threatening injuries. Each soft-touch evoked the feeling of stinging raindrops, the other’s cursed energy humming its usual thunderous tune. With the both of them this close, he could see the dark stormy irises of his brother’s eyes, even the left one, which he usually covered beneath his long bangs. (“Force of habit,” Nii-nii has said when Satoru asked once.) Specks of stardust twinkled in those seas of grey, the remnants and possibility of the infinite etching into what could have been. His Six Eyes gleamed and pulsed, as if in mourning.

Kakashi did not ask him what happened (he would have already known from the gossip vines anyhow; Jujutsu sorcerers are always a bunch of loudmouths). Instead, he ushered Satoru’s still uncharacteristically silent form to sit at his usual seat, while, in almost an ironic sense of normalcy, asking him what he wanted for dinner. Satoru monotonously replied, “Anything.” To which his brother gave a sad smile to but nodded understandingly.

It was only as he was distantly listening to the sound of his older brother going around in the kitchen, and cocking his head to the reflection of himself in the bowl of Miso soup in front of him, that Satoru realised that he was now taller than Kakashi.

(Would his brother be as expendable as Amanai? Deep down, he already knew the answer.)

-x-

As soon as he was made Head of Clan, Satoru did what he had wanted to do for years.

“Eh?” Kakashi blinked at him owlishly, hands stilling during the process of making mochi. They were cutely rabbit-shaped and full of edamame fillings. (Those were Satoru’s favourites, though technically anything made by Kakashi is his favourite). 

“I want you to move into Jujutsu Tech,” Satoru repeated. He drummed his fingers against the surface of the table, a hand holding up his chin as he gazed at the marking on its wooden exterior. It was full of scratches and blemishes from all the meals over the years, full of fond memories. He even remembered the first meal he had with Kakashi at this very table, way back when they were mere children. But it was nigh time to move on, and look towards the future.

Kakashi was scrutinising him with a rather affable expression on his exposed face, so Satoru elaborated.

“I would feel a lot better during missions if you’re at the school rather than here. I’ll already be graduating later this year, and will no doubt be going on a lot more assignments. My new title and inevitable rise in fame would undoubtedly lead to some people being unwantedly interested in you. At least when you’re on Jujutsu Tech grounds, you’ll be protected from curses and Shoko can keep an eye on you. Suguru as well, when he’s free.”

Satoru continued before Kakashi could protest. His Six Eyes glittered in exuberance as he laid out his plan. “Shoko, my classmate, is one of the very few Jujutsu users that can use reverse cursed techniques and is in the process of obtaining a medical certificate. I told her about your condition, and, as a token of our friendship, she’s willing to take a look at you. Which is a lot more than what these bastards have been doing after all these years.” The younger growled his last few words, gritting his teeth. Catching himself, Satoru breathed heavily through his nose. He rubbed at his temples in annoyance.

“I also need to fulfil a promise to someone,” Satoru added as an afterthought. It would be much easier to keep an eye on Kakashi and later on, Megumi if they are at the same place. They would be far away from the influence of their respective clans as well.

“Oh?” Kakashi looked meek at the mention of a promise.

“You stubborn fool.” Kakashi sighed after a while of contemplation, rubbing his temples. He shot the younger an exasperated fond look as he reached over to hand him a plate of done mochi. A familiar motion between the two. “When I even told you that my condition and position is none of your faults, and I know you’ve been plotting this a while. What a way to abuse your new position of power, Gojo-sama.” He teased at the end.

Satoru nearly chortled at the title, but he decidedly kept his cool to throw a pointed, totally serious look at the older. “Kakashi-nii, please.”

“…. Okay.” Kakashi turned his back towards Satoru. His shoulders hunched, seemingly cleaning up. The younger heard him mumble softly, “Though you think of me too much, Satoru.”

“You’re my Nii-nii.” Satoru replied stubbornly. He narrowed his dangerous eyes at his brother’s back, knowing that the other could feel it. “Am I supposed to feel indifferent about you?”

“I have done nothing of worth, Satoru,” Kakashi stated. “I wish I could do more, for you and for everyone.”

“Nii-nii has been Nii-nii to me, and for me, that’s enough.”

“Is it?” The older laughed almost bitterly. It was a foreign sound. “I can’t protect anyone.” He looked down at his hands, mind going to that faraway place that Satoru can never reach, even with his heavenly eyes.

“I will. In your stead.” Satoru stood up; fists clenched. Infinity strummed around him, humming a familiar tune. Kakashi heeded the melody and turned to gaze into his younger brother’s eyes. Satoru’s eyes may gleam like the waves of the ocean, but Kakashi’s onyx orb showed the deep abyss of its waters.

“I’m the oldest,” Kakashi said.

“And I’m the strongest,” Satoru said.

“But I can only save those who are willing to be saved,” Satoru added, almost pleading. His Six Eyes reflected the claps of an unwanted audience, the smiling faces of humanity’s beckoning ignorance, and the drips of blood upon a young girl’s braids. He didn’t want Kakashi to be anyone’s sacrificial pawn, ready to use and thrown away at the latest convenience. He stared deeply at Kakashi’s wavering visage, willing him to understand.

“Let me save you, Kakashi-nii.”

At his words, Kakashi gave a shaky exhale, as if he, too, was remembering something. A definite infinity passed between the two of them.

And finally, Kakashi nodded.

Satoru laughed ceremoniously with joy when Shoko, blank-faced as she usually was, told him that she has some ideas on how to fix the unstable flow of Kakashi’s energy, which would greatly reduce the strain on the other’s body. Of course, he can expect his older brother to live quite a few more years, maybe until his eighties if he wanted to put up with Satoru for that long.

“He can finally stop pinging like a curse attraction now I reckon,” Shoko prodded a bleary-eyed Kakashi, who had a disgruntled but resigned expression on his face while he was poked at. Almost as if he was most familiar with such motions. “And actually go outside now. Maybe get some sun while you’re at it, Gojo-san.”

“Clothes shopping~!” Satoru sang, looking quite excited at the prospects of dressing his brother up.

“No.” Kakashi deadpanned, and covered himself completely with his blanket (for he was on a bed), making motions as if to go to sleep. With a high pitch whine that suspiciously sounded a lot like a puppy, Satoru draped himself over the still bump like a limp octopus, going “Nii-san~~, come onnnnnn,” with his familiar annoying intonation.

Shoko watched on, and pulled out her cellphone to record just in time to catch Satoru being rolled over the bed railing by a rebellious blanket-huddling Kakashi.

-x-

But of course, nothing was ever that simple.

“What happened?” Satoru demanded, slamming through the door of the infirmary to see his brother curling into himself on one of the beds while Shoko was looking over him, a palm of reversed cursed energy hovering over his crumpled figure. Satoru himself had just gotten back from a mission when he felt the wild pulse of energy blasting throughout the school’s ground, a shockwave enough to send the birds flying and the sorcerers on hand to go on immediate alert. The air smelled distinctly of ozone, the scent of a storm approaching. Immediately recognising the signature as his brother’s, the younger Gojo had pinpointed his whereabouts, picking up Shoko’s energy near him as well and teleported, his heart leaping to his throat at the thought of something happening to his older sibling.

Sure enough, his Six Eyes instantly picked up the erratic flare of Kakashi’s cursed energy around him, cocooning him in a weirdly organised shape and flow, unlike any other cursed energy before. It was almost visible to the naked eye, and Satoru approached the duo, his own energy humming in retaliation to the storm. Lightning occasionally sparks from his brother’s form, blue and sharp, and Satoru could see Shoko wincing at being electrocuted, though she was fine due to her healing technique.

“Gojo, he’s- “Shoko began, but then halted when Kakashi gave a groan of pain, hands flying up to his eyes. His hair was dampened with sweat, and shivers racked the other’s frames, lightning running out in arches. The bed linen was slightly charred and blackened around the edges, which told Satoru that this has been going on for a while now. Standing beside Shoko, Satori reached out to touch his brother, confident that Infinity would prevent him from being fried.

“Nii-san. Can you hear me?” Satoru called out, eyes roaming carefully for any changes in behaviour or energy flow. Kakashi gave no indication that he heard him.

His hand was stopped before he could touch Kakashi though, and his eyes informed him that it was the other’s energy that was responsible for doing so. Curiously, it was acting like a barrier, protecting the other from any external forces.

He looked at Shoko, who sighed. Her hair was rather frazzled. Of course, Satoru pointed that out, which earned him a half-hearted jab to the ribs.

“His energy has been acting out for the past few days.” Shoko continued to try examining the older Gojo’s condition, despite being hindered. “It’s been stabilising, but today has been the worst spike yet. It might have been his energy trying to get used to being unobstructed, but his massive amount may have been too much to handle in one go.”

“Like a river after the dam’s being broken,” Satoru murmured, and at Shoko’s nod of agreement, prodded at the armour-like energy once more with a careful amount of cursed force that will usually be enough to breach concrete. Nary a scratch. He was curious as to the extent of how much the protective energy can tank, but his brother’s well-being comes first for now.

“On a side note, it appears that Kakashi-nii’s technique may involve thunder manipulation.” How cool. Satoru always wanted to try nature manipulation, kind of like the Avatar or something.

Satoru shook his head. Focus, Gojo.

For the next several long minutes, he remained at Kakashi’s side. With the help of the Six Eyes, he tried his best to keep track of the state of Kakashi’s energy, explaining to Shoko where she should direct her technique at, noting several areas where the cursed energy was weak enough for her technique to breach through. Though he could not really use reverse cursed technique on others, Satoru, too, sent some of his own energy to help block and redirect some of the denser flow, while hoping that his familiar energy signature would also help calm Kakashi down. At last, it seemed that they had helped stabilize it, for the air stopped smelling like ozone and lightning no longer shot out from the older Gojo’s form.

Kakashi slumped completely, groaning. Dissipating into crystalline dust, the armour-like energy broke, and Satoru swiftly caught Kakashi in his arms, before helping the other rest against the bed.

“….bito…”

“Kakashi-nii!” At the sound of the other’s voice, Satoru let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the other was finally coming to. He gestured to Shoko, who moved closer for an examination.

All of a sudden, both Kakashi and Satoru tensed, the former bringing up his hands to palm at his eyes once more while the other activating Infinity. He immediately pushed Shoko back behind him, while his other hand formed the signature for Red. A more condensed form has seemingly formed out of nowhere, making the air heavy and congested with its mere presence. It coiled around Kakashi-nii, wrapping him inside its black, cloudy tendrils. Even without a solid form, Satoru could feel the malice and anger residing within the shapeless being, glaring at him with all of its piercing emotions.

A curse. Satoru gritted his teeth. At least a 1st Grade too, though its rising negative pressure could easily push it into Special Grade. How could he, out of all people, has missed this?

A shapeless hand placed itself on Kakashi’s shoulder. Garbled gurgles of acidic blood spew forth from an invisible mouth, and wilted petals fell onto the white linen, leaving black stains. Traces of illusion clashed with reality, black tadpoles swimming in distorted space, swallowing light and expelling crimson. It was as if the being was phasing through the fabric of reality itself, creating and destroying and creating its tie to this plane of existence, over and over again.

“...I see.” Satoru heard Kakashi mumbled, a tone of pure melancholy and sadness tainting the other’s tired and exhausted voice. The cursed energy curled almost lovingly around the other, and Satoru tensely followed the movements, ready to fire off Red in case the curse decided to attack. The only reason why he hadn't done so yet was because of the curse’s proximity to Kakashi. His entire being was alerted and vigilant, and Satoru considered his odds, narrowing his eyes. He glanced back at Shoko, who kept quiet in order to not draw the curse’s attention to her. Satoru needed to take care of her as well, and get her out as soon as possible while trying to figure out how to get the curse to release its hold on his brother. For now, the curse is passive, but who knows what was going to happen.

“...Even now, you’ve trusted me this much...the future…”

“Kakashi-nii, wha-” Satoru snapped at the other’s rambling before he sucked in a harsh breath at the influx of energy. He darted forward as soon as he saw movement from the creature, which began to ...seep its presence into Kakashi’s energy coils.

Through the assimilating darkness, Satoru’s eyes foresaw the beginning of a red string.

Satoru brought up a palm reinforced with curse energy. He has to brute force his way then, and hope Kakashi-nii would be able to snap himself out of his stupor or not be too injured. He doesn’t know what the curse was exactly trying to do, but it was attempting to tie itself to Kakashi. Like hell Satoru was going to let it.

“Reverse Rotation Technique: Re-”

His hand passed through. The rest of his arm followed. 

Satoru’s eyes widened.

His Infinity has touched nothing.

The indefinite was met with the intangible.

He cancelled the technique; Satoru’s palm struck the wall behind the bed frame, and the whole length came crashing down. Chucks of debris and concrete flew forward from the force, and with it, a torrent of dust.

“Gojo!” Shoko cautiously called out as soon as the dust began to dissipate. She saw the other’s pale head hovering over his brother’s; it seems that he had deliberately hunched himself over Kakashi to protect the other from the rain of steel and stone. She looked around; there were just the three of them once more.

The curse was seemingly gone, but Satoru knew better.

“...Nii-san,” Very softly, the younger muttered, half-lidded eyes looking down at and through his brother. At the other’s call, Kakashi finally looked up beneath his sweat-dampened bangs, and the world screeched to a halt.

A pair of deep crimson, marked with the dark, bastardised pattern of a pinwheel, met the bluish, heavenly glow of the Six Eyes.

-x-

Omake:

“Ne, Satoru?”

“What is it, nii-nii?”

“What does this mean?” Satoru looked up as Kakashi shoved his smartphone rather animatedly at his face. He winced at the bright light permeating into his sensitive eyes, and softly nudged his brother’s arm a few inches away to properly take in the device’s screen.

“…Who taught you this?”

“Ah, Shoko-chan did. She said something about how most people used these…little pictures as a cryptic way to send messages. And she showed me a few popular examples and told me to figure them out.”

Satoru looked at the message again.

( 👅🍆 **🌋** )

“…I see.” _I will kill her._ ('It's a joke, Gojo' - Shoko)

-x-

Omake 2:

“Satoru never really mentioned to us that he has an older brother,” Suguru commented with curiosity, during his first meeting with Kakashi. He eyed the other and noticed the silvery bangs that covered the other’s left eye. The medical mask made it hard to see his face as well.

“I don’t particularly mind that he doesn’t, Satoru has other things to be worried about.” Kakashi calmly replied and shovelled another plate of homemade dangos to his guests (and Satoru). Finally, on the receiving end of his famous delicacies, Suguru and Shoko gleefully munched, while Satoru was avidly complaining about his shrunken portion.

“…I don’t suppose you have any embarrassing stories about Satoru’s childhood, do you?” Suguru exchanged a devious smirk with Shoko, ignoring the younger Gojo’s indignant shout at the question.

Kakashi gave a dreamy smile, eye misted in reminiscence. “As a matter of fact, there was this one time when he wanted to marr—”

“Nii-nii!” Satoru yelped in vain.

“Nii-nii?!” Suguru and Shoko both collapsed in laughter while Satoru, red-faced, tried to drag them out the door, spluttering about _how damn rude some people were_ and how _they kept leeching his brother’s snacks from him._

Kakashi merely sipped his tea, enjoying the company. 

-x-

Omake 3:

“We need to get you new clothes, nii-nii. You just can’t keep wearing those dreary yukatas all the time!” Satoru bemoaned, dragging an equally distraught Kakashi through the established clothing store that the younger himself preferred to buy.

Satoru shoved a handful of clothes into Kakashi’s arms, who staggered under the surprising weight. “Here, try these ones.”

The other gave him an annoyed, disbelieving look before Kakashi caught a glimpse of one of the price tags. “300 000 yen?!” He yelped.

“It’s fine, it’s fine~~”

“S-Satoru, I could easily feed you thousand times over with the amount you’re paying for just this shirt alone!”

Bless his brother, but really, does he really plan on feeding Satoru edamame-mochi until one of their untimely deaths? (Not that Satoru is complaining but-)

When he finally managed to shove Kakashi into one of the changing rooms, the other complaining and whining all the while (and it was amusing yet bizarre to see their roles reversed), Satoru leaned against the door, making it known that he wasn’t letting the other out until he has, at least, tried on what Satoru has dumped on him.

He heard Kakashi shuffling about inside, presumably giving up after seeing that not even the threat of not making Dango for tonight’s dessert could sway the younger Gojo (And it hurts, it really does, but sacrifices have to be made).

“...Well, this kind of looks like what I would wear during my free time, so…” 

Kakashi came out wearing a tight-fitting sleeveless turtleneck, the dark material highlighting the paleness of the other moonlight skin and the muscles of his abdomen. The other was in the process of putting on a cardigan jacket, the sleeves still stuck in the crook of his elbows, so his shoulders were bare, and showing off the lines of his biceps. The other has also opted for a dark grey-coloured pair of jeans, which hugged his long, thin legs very snugly.

!!!

Lewd, too lewd!

“W-what’s wrong-?” Kakashi gave the other an alarmed, wide-eyed look when Satoru had, in the blink of an eye, pulled the other’s jacket shut so tightly that Kakashi’s arms went crossed in the process. Satoru said nothing, a dark shadow hiding his eyes.

Dangerous.

Too dangerous.

Who knew that his lovable, hardworking and innocent (?) nii-nii could wear something like this?!

“...Kakashi-nii, you can’t go out looking like this. Change back.”

“Eh?”

**Author's Note:**

> Damn, Jujutsu Kaisen really grabbed my attention and boosted my motivation so much that I came back from the long ass writer's block that I have. 
> 
> Satoru is my now 2nd most favourite anime character of all times, Kakashi still takes the top spot because he is literally my spirit animal and my precious babeh. 
> 
> Also, looking at Satoru's official arts made me realise that I really want to see Kakashi in pretty, modern clothing. Studio Pierrot really did Kakashi dirty in his official arts by focusing heavily on his students and making sure he didn't stand out too much (This contrast between Kishimoto and Akutami is frankly hilarious; the latter literally doesn't care about the sensei figure outshining his main characters, encouraging it in fact, while I think the former care too much). 
> 
> Although liking Satoru is making my wallet bleed, because of how many merchandises he has. Oh well, he can join his beloved Nii-Nii in my Kakashi Shrine. 
> 
> The next chapter is from Kakashi's perspective and more of his new background; I don't know the ending for this fic, let's enjoy while it lasted. :D


End file.
